[En Sabah Nerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skoob

Yep. My token Black Series Stormtrooper was disappointing in that regard, hence my interest in the new alternatives from Medicom and Figuarts. I love the Stormtrooper design, so am curious to see how each company addresses problems of articulation, and want to own the best one.

It appears that SH Figuarts is about to do for Star Wars what NECA has done for other licences at the same 6-inch to 7-inch scale, which is to take the bold step of trying to make the face of an action figure actually resemble the actor who plays a character in a given movie or TV show. IMHO, this seems like an important step forward for the industry, raising the overall standard for competitors in the collector niche for smaller-scale licensed action figures.

Why did it take so long for others to challenge the dominance of the 12" figure makers in this regard? The success enjoyed by a small number of companies like Hot Toys ought to be a great motivator. I suppose there are technical, software and creative limitations. Well, it's clear that those are being overcome, and I for one am VERY excited for upcoming releases!

I just wish the prices could be more competitive too. I know I've bitched about the price of these Japan imported toys before, but I dislike only being able to look at these toys online. Especially Darth Vader here, I already said how I enjoy Hasbro's trooper but while I'm overall happy with their Vader it left quite a bit to be desired compared to the trooper. If I gave the Black series Stormtrooper a 9/10 then Vader would only get a 7 or maybe an 8 if I'm being nice. The SH Vader looks like he should be much better overall (I admit I prefer the draped fabric cape to a plastic flowing one so points to Hasbro for that) but the SH price stings. If it were only like $30 then I'd be ordering one, alas my budget is committed to other stuff.